In a deep-water drilling operation, a marine riser is typically employed to provide a conduit between the subsea well and the surface drilling facility (also referred to as an “oil platform” or “drilling rig”) for the removal of drilling mud and cuttings or of other fluids emanating from the wellbore. The riser usually includes lower and upper sections of large-diameter pipes connected via a slip joint that allows for relative vertical motion between the two sections to accommodate any rig heave. The upper pipe section may be fixedly attached to the rig floor, while the lower pipe section may be suspended from the rig by tensioner cables. At the bottom end, the lower pipe may be secured to a sub-sea blowout preventer (BOP) via a flexible joint. During a sudden influx of hydrocarbon or other formation fluids into the well (often referred to as a “kick”), the BOP functions as a valve that controls pressure by restricting and/or shutting off upward fluid flow. The pressures encountered in the marine riser during such a “well-killing” operation, or in the event of a BOP failure, can exceed typical marine-riser pressure ratings, causing the riser to burst or collapse and, as a result, allowing formation fluids to escape into the sea.